Daria and Link
by Smileyfax
Summary: 12-year-old Daria Morgendorffer meets an interesting boy at the Okay To Cry Corral.
1. Chapter 1

Daria read from her book, desperately hoping that she would go deaf soon so she wouldn't have to listen to the 'sensitive-ized' version of 'This Old Man' sung by Mr. O'Neill and much of the other children. Her mother had signed her up for the Okay to Cry Corral since it was closer to Lawndale than Camp Grizzly, not to mention cheaper. The only bright spot was that her babysitter, Jane Lane, had coincidentally volunteered to be one of the counselors at the camp.

The bus pulled up to the Corral and everybody filed off. As she stepped off the bus, her book was unexpectedly plucked from her hands by the head counselor, an insipid-looking man by the name of O'Neill. "Hello, uh, Dara," he said, checking his clipboard for Daria's (misspelled) name. "While I love literature as much as the next man -"

"Very little?" she asked.

"What? No. I mean that this is a camp for opening up to ourselves and each other, and I regretfully have to take your book away from you to help facilitate that."

Daria made a face. Camp Grizzly was looking better by the second.

Once inside the main building, Mr. O'Neill and his two counselors faced the children, and the head counselor began to speak.

"Greetings, and welcome to the Okay to Cry Corral. I'm Uncle Timothy, and together we're going to take a journey to the land of self-discovery. A land where it's okay to laugh, and it's okay...to cry."

"I feel like doing that now," Daria muttered.

"And now I'd like my co-counselors, Jane and Uncle Anthony, to say a few words about what they hope to accomplish here."

"After YOU, Jane," 'Uncle' Anthony said.

"Thanks, Uncle Anthony!" Jane stepped forward. "I'm here for extra credit, and to get some distance from my cheating son of a...gun...boyfriend."

Mr. DeMartino stepped forward. "I'm hoping to rediscover the JOYS and SATISFACTIONS of TEACHING, and the motives that led me to pursue such a THANKLESS...I mean, REWARDING profession in the first place. At least that's what my doctor says I need to do before I incur a cerebral HEMMORHAGE!"

"Uncle Anthony..." Mr. O'Neill laughed nervously, worried that his co-worker would snap in front of the children. "I mean, what are your goals for the campers?"

"Oh. Um..." Mr. DeMartino retrieved a notecard from his pocket and read from it. "To help make this a PLEASURABLE experience for all. Let's learn to love ourselves together."

Mr. O'Neill waited for a few moments, waiting for the children to applaud, until he realized the gesture was not forthcoming. "Okay." He chuckled again, still uneasy. "Let's divide into three groups, shall we?" He divided the group of children, with Daria ending up in the third group. He also assigned Jane to Daria's group, which made Daria just slightly more inclined to believe in a just God.

"Hey, kids! I'm Jane, and I love to paint weeeeird things!" She waggled her fingers in the direction of her charges, to emphasize the weirdness. "Does anybody want to say anything before we get started?"

"Can I get my book back?" Daria asked.

Jane winked and held it out triumphantly to Daria - she had been holding it behind her back ever since she swiped it from Mr. O'Neill moments prior. "Thanks, Jane."

"Anytime, amiga! Now, any more questions?"

One of the other kids, who had previously kept his head down, raised his head and asked, "Is it fall yet?"

Daria looked at the boy, and a light blush came to her cheeks. Jane saw this and raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but remained silent. 


	2. Chapter 2

Daria sighed with relief as the front door closed behind her. She had reached her refuge from the Corral, and would have peace for -

"Daria!" Helen said, hugging her youngest. "How was the Corral?"

"Terribly tedious," Daria freely admitted. "The idiot in charge -"

"Daria! What have I told you about calling your elders idiots!"

"Sorry, mom. The man whose IQ is three standard deviations below normal tried to take my book away, and..." she made a face at this, "We were forced to do crafts."

Helen frowned. "I thought your babysitter Jane was a counselor there. Didn't you tell me you like doing arts and crafts with her?"

Daria nodded. "Yeah, but...Uncle Timothy, as he likes to be called, only lets us use pipe cleaners and beads...and he wanted us to make things representing our feelings!" Daria made a gagging noise.

Her mother sighed. "Did you at least try to behave?"

"Oh, I did. I made something that exactly represented my feelings." Helen almost had a chance to smile before Daria continued. "He excused me and let me read after that." Daria did smile then, one of her brief "I've punished an idiot" smiles she got on occasion. "Now, I'd like to go upstairs and catch up on the ten minutes of reading I lost when that jerk confiscated my book."

"Wait, Daria...I have a surprise for you!" Helen said. "Come on in!" she called to the kitchen.

Daria looked to see who her mother was calling out to, and her mouth dropped open in horror.

"Hi, Daria!" Amelia called out, before rushing over and squeezing her friend in a hug.

"What is...what are you doing here?" Daria asked, highly perturbed.

"Oh! Well, when I got to Camp Grizzly, I found out you weren't registered this year, so I refused to stay there. After we got back, my mom called your mom -"

"You gave Amelia's family our phone number?" Daria asked Helen increduously.

Amelia went on uninterrupted. "- and now I get to stay here with you the whole summer! Isn't that great?"

"The whole summer?" Amelia nodded eagerly, before squeezing Daria in another enthusiastic hug. "Oh yeah. Just. Great." 


End file.
